Face 2 Face, Art in Translation

At a March Face 2 Face conversation, Professor Ravi M. Gupta (Religious Studies) and Professor William
Hutton (Classical Studies) discussed their work and ideas, finding common
ground in their roles as translators of ancient texts. Following is an abridged
version of their conversation. The event was held in a classroom at the
College's Wren Building.

Professors in the arts and humanities inhabit more than one world, and
one of the most profound examples can be found in the act of translation.

Gupta began, “There are three main texts that shape Hinduism today
and over the last 1,000 years. My work focuses on one of these texts, the BhagavataPurana, a philosophically sophisticated work of history and literature.”
Written in Sanskrit, the text includes more than 14,000 verses with narratives of the history of the
universe from creation to destruction, genealogies of kings, heroes, sages, and
demigods, and descriptions of Hindu cosmology, philosophy, and geography. Gupta
is writing both a primary text translation as well as a secondary literary
explanation of the text.

“These are living religious texts and part of a family of texts that are
actively used,” said Gupta. “There is no way to avoid the importance of this
text in understanding how Hinduism is practiced today. It is also wonderful
storytelling and great literature.”

"Translation is one way to open the door to creating a habit of independent thought.” - Bill Hutton

Is it different for ancient texts that are no longer in everyday use?

“Travel
writing also includes great storytelling,” said Hutton, whose work focuses on
the study of travel in Greece during the 2nd century C.E. In translating
existing literary and archeological materials, he is examining the social and
communication aspects of travel during this period. Hutton spoke about the materials he works with and how they could be considered the first novels in the Western tradition. “Modern literature uses travel as a device to make characters
encounter and discover things. The same was true back then.”

“One
of the greatest challenges of translation is, do you stick literally to the
text or try to interpret what was meant at the time?” said Hutton. “The purpose
of translation is to make a text useful, so it can’t be completely literal.”

“It
is a huge struggle to try to capture the beauty of the language and convey the
literal meaning,” agreed Gupta. “Sometimes the words are off, and you must
strike a balance and work from the best meaning.”

Gupta
outlined three components of translation: the poetic dimension (capturing the
beauty in the language); the literal dimension; and the playfulness dimension,
which is often the hardest to convey. Sometimes words or ideas may have a
double meaning that can get lost.

“A
direct translation can go one way, but then you must use different terms to
show the sophistication of the words,” said Hutton. “It can be a challenge to
preserve the general idea as well as the richness of the text.”

“You
must also understand the time period of any ancient commentary on the original
text,” said Gupta. “It’s like having a conversation across centuries.”

"Regardless of your access to an ancient language, without some capacity to translate, you can’t function in this world.” - Ravi Gupta

“Translation
is an experience as much as a technique,” continued Gupta, who said he feels at
home in translation after growing up in multilingual cultures in the United
States and India. “It is so much more than communicating in words. It is also
cultural assumptions and body language."

“The
role of translation is so much more powerful than, ‘here is a book you can now
read’; it is more ‘here is a culture,’” said Gupta. “In essence, we’re asking
our students to become translators themselves. Translation is an act of active
collaboration. Regardless of your access to an ancient language, without some
capacity to translate, you can’t function in this world.”

“Students
often bring misconceptions to the work,” said Hutton. “We need to break down
those barriers. We want our students to take responsibility for what they know
about the ancient world, which is not that foreign from what we are today.
Translation is one way to open the door to creating a habit of independent
thought.”

Gupta
concluded, “There is a saying in Sanskrit, ‘No matter how well trained the
acrobat; he can’t stand on his own shoulders,’ and this is what I hope my
students can do. To stand on someone’s shoulders could be an act of domination
or an act of playfulness. I think there is a wonderful opportunity to find that
place of playfulness in what we do.”